Of Love and Dust

by Ernest J. Gaines

This is the story of Marcus: bonded out of jail, where he has been awaiting trial for murder, he is sent to the Hebert plantation to work in the fields. There he encounters conflict with the overseer, Sidney Bonbon, and a tale of revenge, lust and power plays out between Marcus, Bonbon, Bonbon’s mistress Pauline, and Bonbon’s wife Louise.

Genres: Fiction, Historical Fiction, African American, Classics, Literature, Literary Fiction, American

288 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1968

About the author

Ernest James Gaines was an American author whose works have been taught in college classrooms and translated into many languages, including French, Spanish, German, Russian and Chinese. Four of his works were made into television movies.
His 1993 novel, A Lesson Before Dying, won the National Book Critics Circle Award for fiction. Gaines was a MacArthur Foundation fellow, was awarded the National Humanities Medal, and was inducted into the French Ordre des Arts et des Lettres (Order of Arts and Letters) as a Chevalier.

Reviews

[Diane Barnes · Rating 4 out of 5]

A good story, well told. That's my criteria for a memorable book. Ernest Gaines does that and more: you feel the heat, the dust burns your eyes and clogs your throat, racism and the unfairness of the "system" eats into your soul, and the dialogue puts you squarely in the middle of the scene and the action. I have loved all of his books so far, and this early novel (1967) was a great read, lacking the intensity and sadness of "A Gathering of Old Men" and "A Lesson Before Dying", but one I thoroughly enjoyed for that very reason.

Favorite line: "No matter what a person does, there ought to be somebody on his side at the last moment".

[Octavia · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is my fourth novel by Ernest J. Gaines and I must say it is the most interesting one thus far. Prior to reading ‘Of Love and Dust’, my choice was his novel ‘In My Father’s House’ written in 1978. I’m trying not to get excited while writing this review! It’s just that POWERFULLY SPLENDID. And, I find another novel more attentively fascinating this year (2024), It will be surprisingly shocking to me…

After being in deep thoughts about this novel, I will somehow try to put together a review. If you have read an Ernest J. Gaines’ novel, (as a reader) one understands this Masterful storyteller writes with a Purposeful meaning to be explored thoroughly.

This author takes readers back to another plantation owned by Herbert Marshall. We learn the overseer is Bonbon who is married with a daughter. Jim Kelly is the loyal plantation tractor driver and narrator of this astonishing read. And then we meet Marcus…

Marcus shows up on the Herbert Plantation and everything about him is DIFFERENT. He has been bonded out of jail by the plantation owner and refuses to accept his stay there, at all. It does not take long for him to realize their “system” is another form of slavery; causing Marcus to become defiant in many ways. And, never sees himself like anyone else in the gallery. Yet, Bonbon strives to break Marcus’ spirit on numerous accounts. Even so, Marcus continues to dress in nice clothes, work on the plantation, and make plans. Marcus thinks of himself as equal, unlike the others on the Plantation. And, doesn’t like his manhood being challenged by Bonbon. The events to come has me ready to revisit this novel right now!

What stays on my mind is how Marcus’ “Disruption” bothered everyone (both races) on the Plantation. They did not like him interfering with their system. Even the black workers had an issue with him being comfortable in their normalcy. This novel is a great choice for a discussion. Written in 3 parts, Ernest J. Gaines has written a compelling novel for readers to feel the pains of these characters. There is a scene in Josie’s house so vividly descriptive I could actually visualize it. There’s so much more…I love his novels. Beautifully Written!

[Cody · Rating 5 out of 5]

Of Love and Dust is Gaines’ best, most wonderfully fucked, ‘Oh my Gawd, what’s gonna happen,’ and uniquely pyrrhic distillation of his lifelong inquiry into racial inheritance and radical justice. Its plot points tick all the best Gothic boxes and occur within a closed microcosm so reduced to elementals that its characters could have been named—dunno—hydrogen and carbon. Come to think of it, tungsten and osmium make far better analogues.

Throw in a child-sized and headfucked waif of a cracker wife playing peekaboo from the tall weeds outside a haunted house and generally vamping ‘round in a babydoll summer dress: male violence eso es tan estúpido que es increíble; and garnish with Biblical scourges of dust atop everything—Bang! you got yourself a goddamn poundcake.

File this bloody bastard under: Rad; vide quoque, Reckoning and Redemption. Everything about it is pure Au.

[Kathryn in FL · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book has imprinted my psyche. I have a greater appreciation for Ernest Gaines as an author, who captures setting and characterizations with laser accuracy, making the tale vividly clear. As a reader, you are present as an observer to the unfolding events. There is a tangible atmosphere that envelopes you over the several hottest weeks of summer. You feel the dust from the desperate, drying heat of summer as it dries your eyes, covers your skin and indwells each intake of breathe. The mosquitoes are seeking their next landing place. Your neighbors are watching your every move and know you maybe just a bit better than you may know yourself.

This my friends is 1948 in nowhere on the map Louisiana. Our narrator, James, lives on the "Plantation", owned by Marshall Hebert, a lazy, obese man, who inherited the land. Marcus is a young man, new to "Plantation", who knows his mind but chooses to ignore the era. He challenges everything about the deep south rules, and James warns him to know his place or risk an unnecessary but fearsome outcome. Again and again, Marcus pushes against barriers and despite the negative ramifications, chooses to challenge societal rules. Initially, he angers the other negroes living there but slowly James now past forty years, begins to admire Marcus's persistence and courage.

Gaines writes powerful prose and though he flaunts some writing conventions (he writes overlong paragraphs), his writing has a purity and essence. Each word is essential and conveys value to the whole. There are no unnecessary scenes nor dialogue. I was fully invested throughout and I believe this will haunt me for days to come. I particularly enjoy the contribution of the smaller details to the entirety of the story. This is worthy of your time. Those who know me will know that I don't award 5 stars often, this was most deserving.

[Camie · Rating 4 out of 5]

When Marcus a fancy dressing young black man accused of murder is bonded out of jail and sent to work on the Hebert plantation he soon stirs up a big commotion while trying to seek revenge on Bonbon the Cajun overseer who overworks and mistreats him. Really adding to the story is its narration by James Kelly a field-hand who helps transport him to the plantation and tries to look out for him but ends up feeling conflicted about the character and actions of the man he's trying to protect.
Ernest J Gaines' books are always thought provoking and carry a walloping punch despite his simplistic writing style. This is an early work and I think they just keep improving.
Read for On The Southern Literary Trail 3.5 stars

[Ana Mardoll · Rating 5 out of 5]

Of Love and Dust / 0-679-75248-X

When a young black man is forced to work on a white man's farm to "work off" his prison sentence, he astonishes his more moderate peers by entirely refusing to accept the situation. Rather than capitulate, accept the situation, and "make the best of it", he chafes under the cruelties of the landowner, even though his stubborn refusal causes him intense pain and fatigue. Our narrator is at first surprised and then horrified as the rebellious young man continues to rebel - even to the point of seducing the landowner's wife, and running off with her in the night.

Racial relations are explored carefully in Gaines' novels, and "Of Love and Dust" is no exception. The landowner is not explicitly evil; he is friendly to the narrator, and he has a relationship with one of the women who lives on his land. He loves the woman dearly as well as the two children he has with her, but he refuses to acknowledge that his position of privilege leaves the narrator no room to refuse his friendship, nor his "lover" any room to refuse his advances. At the same time, our young protagonist is no angel: he is rude to the narrator and brusquely brushes aside the narrator's attempt to help the young man. His seduction of the insecure lady of the house is marked with violence and revenge, only later blossoming into a rough-edged love.

Like all of Gaines' novels, there are no easy answers here. The young protagonist is undoubtedly guilty of manslaughter. Some penance should be made, but it does not seem right that the black prison members should be sent out to work white-owned fields as their "punishment". And yet, the produce is necessary and needed and the prisoners are given more freedoms than they would have in prison; on the plantation they have access to their women friends, as well as other luxuries. The situation is clearly wrong, but it is unclear how it can be ultimately fixed. Perhaps the answer is hidden in the title: only love and time can remedy this situation.

~ Ana Mardoll

[Cateline · Rating 5 out of 5]

My first Gaines, and certainly not my last. His writing style is deceptively simple, exquisitely executed.

Of course I knew exactly how it could end, considering the time, 1948, and the location. A Louisiana plantation seeming run in much the same way it was run pre-Civil War, only with convicts, not actual slaves.

How far we've come, thankfully. Reading this book, makes one appreciate the strides we've taken as a country, and people.

[Mikie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Like watching a train wreck: You know what is probably going to happen at the end and you just can't look away. A fast read and a well-told story.

[Vivian · Rating 4 out of 5]

A gritty, thought-provoking story about a older black man who has been trampled into submission by "the man" and his relationship with a younger black man who is determined not to let anyone keep him down. James is frustrated because he can't seem to convince Marcus that it would be better for him in the long run if he just accepted "his place" in the world and conformed. But to James' amazement, his opinion is the one who becomes changed as he watches Marcus stand up for his rights. A very well-written book that swings the reader along with James.

[Cindy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Whew, couldn't put this one down! I had no idea it was written in 1967, until I was almost finished with it. I would imagine this is a fairly accurate account of life on a plantation. This book delves into the thought processes of the older generation blacks and a younger generation man (Marcus). So much of how the older generation reacts to situations is based on fear and the repercussions one person's actions could have on all of them. Marcus' views are completely opposite. His life experiences have lead him to believe only in himself and to put himself before all others. While this attitude can seem selfish, Jim Kelly can't help but eventually admire Marcus. Marcus does eventually show a softer side and that he is capable of loving someone besides himself. This book also deals with the power games that are played out, whites vs. whites, blacks vs. whites and blacks vs. blacks. The older generations knew "the code" that would keep them safe, but a young, high-spirited black man shakes the very foundations on the plantation and there is hell to pay!

[Justin · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book shared so many similarities with Gaines's A Lesson Before Dying that it's no wonder I liked it so much.

Of Love and Dust is something of a beautiful slow-motion car wreck: You know what's coming and that it won't end well but yet you are completely engrossed and can't look away.

Like Lesson, Of Love and Dust is centered around a young black man convicted of a crime and another black man who acts as a mentor/defender. In this case, the young man is Marcus, who was bonded out of jail while awaiting a murder trial. We slowly find out that the payment of his bail by a wealthy plantation owner wasn't exactly altruistic and we see Marcus pursuing the two women of the plantation's overseer, knowing all along that it is not going to end well for him.

Marcus's somewhat reticent mentor Jim also knows things won't end well for Marcus, but try as he might he is unable to stay out of the younger man's affairs and also ultimately unable to help his admiration for Marcus's courage, as reckless as it is.

[Jessica · Rating 4 out of 5]

Deceptively simplistic, and engaging in that simplicity. It's a great story.

[Lauren]

about South Louisiana in 1940s
mentioned in James Lee Burke's Black Cherry Blues

[Old Man JP · Rating 5 out of 5]

An exceptional story magnificently told by Ernest J. Gaines. The story is about a young man named Marcus who was released from jail after killing a man to work on a plantation while he waits for his trial. He is to work in the fields under the supervision of the overseer named Bonbon. Marcus becomes involved with Bonbons black mistress as well as his white wife and this leads to a disastrous conclusion. Gaines writes fascinating stories and creates well defined characters and has become one of my favorite authors.

[Connor Browne]

Great characters, gripping story and incisive societal critique - enjoyed this, picked it up in New Orleans on a whim

[Sandy · Rating 5 out of 5]

I've been on an Ernest J. Gaines kick this summer since I read A Lesson Before Dying for The Big Read. After that came In My Father's House. I found the plots of both of these came with foregone conclusions. Gaines's art is not in the plot but how that plot will transform the main character. These books are tragedies.

Third in line for me was Of Love and Dust. I thought this one would be like the other two I had read and the outcome would be clear from the start. It was not. Perhaps it should have been, but this one was too close to the bone for me, so I stumbled along with Marcus toward the conclusion of his story and his life.

Marcus is a black man awaiting trial for the murder of another black man in a brawl over a woman. Marcus says he killed the guy in self-defence. But what would a white jury say? While he is awaiting trial, a plantation owner basically buys him so he can work him on his plantation until Marcus's court date. There he meets Geam, or James Kelly, who attempts to show him the ropes and who narrates the story. James tries to induct him into the White Man's Game.

Marcus won't learn, though. He has his own ideas of what his life is about, and he refuses to submit to a system that refuses his right to decide for himself what is right and wrong, who he is, of what he has the right to dream. Marcus is a misfit, a trouble-maker, just because he breathes.

He is also a womanizer (that's the close-to-the-bone part for me--been there too recently) who will have his needs satisfied--even if the wife of the overseer is the object of his attention, and even if that attention leads to his demise. Better to be led by passion than obedience. In the end, he will settle for the love of a woman who genuinely cares about him, even if he isn't sure he loves her--just because her affection is genuine and that is new to him.

There the story ends. Because it must because he is black and she is the white wife of the Cajun overseer and there are some things the people with the most and the biggest guns just won't let happen.

Marcus is everything you dreamed of and everything you love. Gaines leaves you wondering why you hated him. And that's the story.

[Mary · Rating 4 out of 5]

It was such a good novel! It was
1948 a long time past the Civil War.
Mr. Hebert owned a plantation in Southern
Louisiana. He was "old school" and worked
his black tenants like slaves. He had
a Cajun overseer,Sidney Bonbon who followed
orders to work them hard.
A young black man Marcus, was bonded
out of jail to work off his time to the
tune of 10 years. He resented Bonbon's
authority and had a will of his own.
It was considered o.K. for Bonbon to
live with a black woman from the "quarters",
but Marcus was not allowed the same when
he started seeing Mrs. Bonbon a white girl.
Remember this was 1948. The fields and
dirt roads were covered in a layer of
white dust,ankle deep. The flies and
mosquitoes buzzed through the hot
houses as the worn out folks waved
them away.

[Brittney Martinez · Rating 4 out of 5]

Forget everything you know about the anti-hero. Marcus is the most anti- anti-hero I have ever read. Rarely do you root for him. In fact, you wouldn't except that his actions can be the start of very revolution change on the plantation he works on. Gaines looks at love, honor, and friendship in a lens I have never seen used before. I recommend this book for those who love Southern and/or black literature.

[Gene · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a timeless Classic from one of my favorite writers! This is a study on race relations at its finest.

[Kimberly · Rating 4 out of 5]

I loved this book! If you read a lesson before dying and were moved ny Ernest Gaines then book will not disappoint.

[Valjeanne Jeffers · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is incredible! Rich with culture and sexuality. The characters are so alive, so tragic and yet powerful. One of his best offerings.

[JimZ]

Splendid, I very much enjoyed reading Ernest Gaines. He passed last month (November 5).

[Trevor Seigler · Rating 4 out of 5]

If you love William Faulkner, you'll love Ernest J. Gaines. I say this as someone who fell under the spell of Faulkner and who is currently getting reacquainted with Gaines, a writer that I encountered a few years ago. His work speaks to the obverse of Faulkner's worldview, the Black to Faulkner's white, so to speak, when it comes to race relations in the South. And this latest read feels like it could've come from Faulkner himself, though it's distinctly Gaines' voice.

"Of Love and Dust" chronicles the fateful intersection between Marcus, a headstrong young Black man, and Bonbon, a Creole overseer at a modern-day plantation circa 1948. Convict labor is the order of the day for Marcus, who has killed a man and is awaiting trial. The other Black residents who work the fields have never seen anyone like him, and that includes James Kelly, our narrator. Through Jim's eyes, we see Marcus come to the farm and stir up trouble by first pursuing Bonbon's Black mistress, Pauline, before successfully seducing Louise, Bonbon's white wife. It unfolds with tragic circumstances for all involved, especially when Marshall (the owner of the plantation and Bonbon's boss) schemes to rid himself of his blackmailing overseer with Marcus' help.

This is a rich, wonderful book that, though it stumbles at times with narration (we see events through Jim's eyes, but sometimes he's rendering events through others' eyes and it is a little confusing to think that he would be able to do so) but is otherwise a frank, compelling portrait of how lives both Black and white are affected by the limits set in place by segregation and racism. Marcus is a complicated character, a man who refuses to play along with the expectations that society has of him in the Jim Crow South; for that, he suffers. But he also serves as an unlikely inspiration to Jim and some of the other Black tenants, who have been so used to their lot in life that Marcus' rebellion, doomed as it is and selfish as it might be, is revelatory all the same. Things might not end well for Marcus and Louise, but that doesn't mean that there is no hope for change.

"Of Love and Dust" is further testament to Ernest J. Gaines' mastery of the form, and while I wouldn't rank it as highly as "A Gathering of Old Men" and "A Lesson Before Dying," it stands as a very good piece of work about the complexities of race in the South. And for all the serious nature of the plot, some moments of humor shine through as well. It's a delicate balance that Gaines achieves because, like Faulkner, he's not just writing characters. He's writing life. And "Of Love and Dust" is full of life.

[Heidi Hilty · Rating 4 out of 5]

A powerful book set in the 1940s in the Deep South. Marcus is bonded out of jail by the owner of a plantation to work the fields until his trial. But Marcus has other plans and the contest between Marcus and the plantation overseer, Bonbon, involves both Bonbon’s mistress, Pauline, and his wife, Louise. Jim Kelly, the plantation tractor driver, watches as the heartbreaking showdown nears but is helpless to change its course. The author writes with compassion and a complete understanding of this unfortunate period in our history.

[Frank McGirk · Rating 4 out of 5]

For about half the book, I thought it was "just" going to be an inevitable march towards tragedy, and I was totally fine with that. The writing and the characters were so good, that I was willing to take that ride, but another quarter of the way through, it shifted in a couple of ways that were clever and and even somewhat inspiring.

The ending plot-wise was great, but somehow, it pulled me back form that 5th star...can't exactly say why.

[nathan rubin · Rating 4 out of 5]

gorgeous book. ernest gaines needs more hype i think. he is so incredibly talented at subtext and unspoken communication and irony. all some of my favorite devices. this is the type of book you can tell was written by someone with many years on their belt and much wisdom in their mind. fantastic. can’t wait to discuss it in class

[Adarsh · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read another book by this author, A Lesson Before Dying, many years ago. It was excellent too. In this one the momentum subtly and slowly builds until you’re just gritting your teeth thinking oh no oh no, what’s going to happen? Great writing

[☕Laura · Rating 3 out of 5]

Ratings:

Writing 4
Story line 3.5
Characters 3.5
Emotional impact 3

Overall rating 3.5

[Richard · Rating 4 out of 5]

Gaines brings an astonishing immediacy to the lives of Black Americans during Jim Crow. He makes the reader feel the heat, the love, the fear, and the violence of the lives of Black folks who, although technically free, are buffeted by the whims of white folks. The characters are fully developed people, not just foils for the author's point of view,.

[Liz · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read a review of this book that said reading this story is like watching a train wreck – you know what is going to happen, but you just can’t tear your eyes away. I was reading the book during choreography and blocking breaks at rehearsal, and it was really hard to put it down when it was time for me to play again! I had previously read Gaines’ A Lesson Before Dying, and I know that this man has a great gift for storytelling. Of Love and Dust is set in 1948, in Cajun country, Louisiana. A young black man named Marcus has been bonded out of jail by a plantation owner named Marshall Hebert. Marcus’s grandmother used to work on the plantation, and she went to Hebert and begged him to do this. Marcus’s obligation is to work out his sentence on the plantation to pay Hebert back. He falls under the domain of the cruel overseer, Sidney Bonbon, a white Cajun with a wife and daughter who also has a black mistress and twin sons in the “quarters” where the black families live. The genius of Gaines’s writing, I think, is in how he shows the intertwining relationships among his characters. Hebert employs and empowers Bonbon, whom he hates, and Bonbon in turn holds something over Hebert which enables Bonbon to do as he pleases, even stealing opening from Hebert’s livestock, crops, and possessions. Bonbon’s wife, Louise, is well aware of her husband’s mistress and other children, but she is so oppressed as to be almost a non-person. Pauline, the mistress, has at first submitted to Bonbon out of expediency, and the knowledge that she really has no choice, but she has come to love him. The narrator, Jim, is reluctantly responsible for Marcus, because he has promised Marcus’s grandmother that he will watch out for the boy. But Marcus, a proud and restless man, is driven so hard by Bonbon that he vows revenge, and tries to seek it by seducing Pauline, who rebuffs him. He then sets his sights on Louise. Eventually, Hebert, knowing something of the situation, approaches Marcus and offers to finance and facilitate his escape if he kills Bonbon. Although Marcus was jailed for murder, he is taken aback by the proposition, which, coming from a white man to a black man, is really more of an order. The story marches on, and the entire population of the quarters holds its breath. I could not go to sleep without finishing this book.